On September 10, 2025, the world of smartwatches got a major shakeup with the debut of two high-end contenders: Apple’s Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin’s fēnix 8 Pro MicroLED. While both brands have long been favorites among fitness buffs and tech enthusiasts, this latest face-off is anything but ordinary. At its core, it’s a battle of bright screens, robust health features, and—let’s not forget—eye-popping price tags. So, which watch is right for you? Let’s take a close look at what makes these wearables tick, and what their advances mean for the future of consumer electronics.
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin fēnix 8 Pro MicroLED were launched on the same day, but their approaches to design and technology couldn’t be more different. According to The Gadget Flow, Garmin’s fēnix 8 Pro MicroLED is a beast: it boasts a 51 mm titanium bezel, stands 17.5 mm thick, and tips the scale at 68 grams (2.4 ounces). There’s no smaller case option this time—Garmin has reserved its MicroLED magic for those who want maximum screen real estate and don’t mind a larger watch on the wrist. The design is rugged and purposeful, with leakproof buttons, a sensor guard, and a lens protected by titanium. It’s even tested to meet U.S. military standards for heat, shock, and water resistance. If you’re headed off the beaten path, this watch feels like it could survive just about anything.
Apple’s Watch Ultra 3, meanwhile, comes in a slightly smaller 49 mm size, with the choice of natural or black titanium cases. The company has rolled out new band colors and materials, including reflective yarn on the Trail Loop and bold new shades for the Ocean and Alpine Loops. Hermès even adds its own luxury touch with new En Mer band colors and a Scub’H Diving band crafted from rubber and titanium. Apple’s focus on repairability also stands out—the Ultra 3 is designed so users can swap out components, a nod to sustainability that Garmin doesn’t currently match. As The Gadget Flow points out, Apple’s approach could help reduce electronic waste, even if Garmin says there isn’t much demand for spare parts.
But let’s get to the real showstopper: the display. Garmin’s fēnix 8 Pro MicroLED is the first smartwatch of its kind to feature a MicroLED display, a technology that’s been making waves in TVs and is now making its way into wearables. According to TrendForce, MicroLED offers extreme brightness—up to 4,500 nits on the fēnix 8 Pro’s 1.4-inch screen, powered by more than 400,000 tiny LEDs. The display’s sharpness and clarity are especially valuable outdoors, where direct sunlight can make most screens unreadable. AUO, the supplier behind Garmin’s display, uses proprietary image calibration technology to squeeze even more quality out of the panel, with PlayNitride and Raydium providing the MicroLED chips and driver ICs. This collaboration is a sign that early investments in MicroLED are starting to pay off, with commercialization picking up across TVs, smartwatches, and even automotive displays. (Samsung’s 140-inch MicroLED TV and Sony Honda’s upcoming 30-inch car display are other headline examples.)
Apple’s Watch Ultra 3 counters with its own display wizardry, using LTPO3 and wide-angle OLEDs to deliver up to 3,000 nits of brightness. The display borders are trimmed by 24%, giving users more active screen space without increasing the watch’s footprint. Wide-angle OLEDs ensure that each pixel remains visible even when you’re glancing at your wrist from odd angles. While the fēnix 8 Pro wins the numbers game on brightness, Apple’s screen is no slouch—and some users even note a visible gap between the titanium case and sapphire crystal in bright sunlight, a minor quirk that’s more aesthetic than functional.
When it comes to health and fitness, both watches pack a serious punch. Garmin’s fēnix 8 Pro MicroLED is loaded with features: Morning and Evening Reports, HRV Status, a wrist-based heart rate monitor, ECG app, and a Pulse Ox sensor that tracks blood oxygen levels day or night. It’s a comprehensive toolkit for anyone who wants to optimize performance and recovery, and it even helps users plan their day and night routines. For those who want to keep tabs on their blood pressure, Garmin can be paired with the Index BPM device for seamless integration into the Garmin Connect ecosystem.
Apple’s Watch Ultra 3, on the other hand, leans heavily into health innovation. It offers ECG and Vitals apps, sleep tracking, and the ability to monitor key health metrics like heart rate, wrist temperature, blood oxygen, and breathing. Most notably, the Ultra 3 introduces hypertension notifications—a potentially life-saving feature, given that high blood pressure affects 1.3 billion adults worldwide and is a leading cause of heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease. The watch also detects signs of sleep apnea, providing users with a more complete health picture than ever before. While Garmin still holds the edge in sheer number of health tools, Apple’s focus on early detection of serious conditions is a major selling point.
Fitness tracking is another area where both watches shine. Garmin’s fēnix 8 Pro MicroLED offers Training Status, Performance Metrics, Endurance Score, Hill Score, and Daily Suggested Workouts, making it a favorite among serious athletes. Apple’s Ultra 3 introduces Workout Buddy, a new feature powered by Apple Intelligence that provides real-time spoken motivation during workouts. According to testing by Rob ter Horst at the University of Vienna, the Apple Watch Ultra (running watchOS 26 beta) delivered the most accurate heart rate readings compared to other top fitness trackers, including Garmin models. Apple’s claim of having the "most accurate GPS in a sports watch" also holds up, making it a compelling choice for runners and cyclists.
Connectivity and battery life are crucial for any adventure-ready wearable. Garmin’s fēnix 8 Pro MicroLED taps into the company’s inReach satellite link, allowing users to call for help, send messages, or share their location from anywhere—though it does require a subscription starting at $7.99 a month. Apple’s Ultra 3 matches this with two years of free satellite service, enabling emergency SOS and location sharing even without a cellular plan. When it comes to endurance, Garmin leads with up to 10 days of battery life in smartwatch mode, thanks to its power-efficient LTE-M network. Apple, while not as long-lasting, offers up to 42 hours of normal use, 72 hours in Low Power Mode, and 20 hours of continuous GPS and heart rate tracking. A quick 15-minute charge gives users 12 hours of use—handy for those on the go.
Of course, all this technology comes at a price. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 will be available for preorder on September 19, 2025, starting at $799. Garmin’s fēnix 8 Pro MicroLED, meanwhile, is already on sale for a hefty $1,999.99. As The Gadget Flow sums up, the fēnix 8 Pro MicroLED may be the ultimate adventure watch, but Apple’s Ultra 3 strikes a better balance for everyday users—and saves you a staggering $1,200.99.
Beyond these two titans, the rise of MicroLED is reshaping consumer electronics. According to TrendForce, MicroLED chip market revenue is projected to hit $461 million by 2029. While high power consumption and cost remain challenges, especially compared to OLED, MicroLED’s extreme brightness and sensor integration potential make it a natural fit for outdoor sports watches and future near-eye displays. With global tech giants and suppliers like AUO, PlayNitride, and Raydium pushing the technology forward, MicroLED is poised to become a fixture in everything from TVs to smart glasses.
For now, whether you’re scaling mountains or just trying to hit your daily step goal, the latest from Apple and Garmin proves that the smartwatch race is far from over—and the future of wearable tech has never looked brighter.